Durant to Become 9th Player with 15,000 Points, 2,000 Assists in 8 Seasons
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant needs just three more assists to become the ninth player in NBA history with 15,000 or more points and 2,000 or more assists through the first eight seasons of his career, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Recently in the news due to some comments expressing distaste for the media, Durant has seen injuries limit him to just 26 games this season, and yet he's still been remarkably efficient when healthy.
While he's already missed more games this season than in the first seven years of his career combined, the 26-year-old forward boasts impressive averages of 25.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists with a .517 field-goal percentage over 33.7 minutes per game.
His first chance to join the exclusive club will come Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks in a game that will be nationally televised on TNT as the league's first contest of the second half of the season.
If not Thursday, Durant will almost certainly reach 2,000 career assists Saturday, when Oklahoma City takes on the Charlotte Hornets.
The other players to reach 15,000 points and 2,000 assists through eight seasons are all either Hall of Famers or well on their way, with the group comprised of Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Michael Jordan and LeBron James, per Basketball-Reference.com's play index.
Most of those guys had already locked up their Hall of Fame candidacy through eight seasons, and the same can be said for both Durant and James.
While he might not make it if he were to retire today, the 26-year-old Durant looks like a sure thing for the Hall, barring a freak long-term injury.
